St. Louis Cardinals: Yankees fans upset with Harrison Bader trade

As Jordan Montgomery dominates for the St. Louis Cardinals, Yankees fans are upset with the trade that netted them Harrison Bader.

The trade that sent St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-hander Jordan Montgomery sent shockwaves throughout baseball.

There were no signs that Bader was on the trade block. Same with Montgomery. Every indication was that the Cardinals viewed Bader as their long-term center fielder. Montgomery, meanwhile, was a dependable pitcher in the Yankees’ rotation, though questions persisted whether he would make their postseason roster.

So the Yankees dealt Montgomery to the rotation-needy Cardinals while acquiring Bader to fill the hole in center field. And the trade looks like an early disaster for the Yankees and as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic pointed out, Yankees fans are “just slightly restless about the initial returns from this deal.”

Bader told Rosenthal that he hasn’t heard the noise, saying: “Is that what they’re saying? I haven’t seen that.”

But if you’re a Yankees fan, it’s hard not to be upset by the trade. Bader hasn’t played a game while he continues to rehab from both plantar fasciitis and bone marrow edema (fluid buildup) in his right foot. If his rehab continues to progress, he’s expected to join New York on Tuesday with 16 games left in the regular season.

Montgomery, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball since the trade deadline. He has a 2.05 ERA in eight starts and looks like the dependable left-hander that the organization has coveted for the better parts of two seasons. There is still time for the narrative surrounding the trade to change — both players are signed through the 2023 season — so a lot can change.

But the early winners are clearly the Cardinals and unless Bader returns in dominant fashion, it’s unimaginable that viewpoint changes in 2022.